


You wanna talk about it?

by TheCorvidCaws



Category: Gravity Falls, ParaNorman (2012)
Genre: But all in a really supportive and constructive tone, Collage/uni AU, Discussions of depression and general bad feelings, Drug use mention, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, kids with messed up childhoods making friends and moving forward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 15:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13390728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCorvidCaws/pseuds/TheCorvidCaws
Summary: In which two boys are not ok, and that’s ok.Also ghosts and coffee.





	You wanna talk about it?

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I’ve ever posted? 
> 
> Wrote this a while back when I was in a very not great brain place. Finally edited it, and now I have somewhere to post it! My writing style has changed quite a bit but I still like it. 
> 
> Oh, and do please leave a comment it you have nice words to say or if I made any spelling/grammar errors!

When Dipper walked in Norman was sitting on his bed talking to empty space. 

"Yeah. Yeah, I know it's.. Oh hi dipper. Nah it's ok he's knows, he's cool. I …Thanks, um. I will. See you later. " 

Dipper grinned as Normans eyes tracked the path of whatever entity he has been speaking to as it crossed the room and aperently drifted through the wall. Geez, that was cool. The hours he had spent failing to establish the most basic communications, and there Norman was just! Talking to them! So cool! 

"Have a good chat norm... Um?... Are you crying?"

"No I just, I ... yeah." Norman was slumped forward, elbows in knees, eyes glassy. He looked drained. 

Not so cool. 

"About the ghost?"

"Yeah it's just...he is..um was a kid you know?"   
Dipper frowned. He suddenly felt a little sick. 

"A kid? Aw man." 

"I mean, not like a little kid. But young, like us. A student. here actually. 

" oh. wow.”he dropped his bag on the floor and moved to sit next to Norman, then stopped. “How did he, you know, ah..."

"Die? It ok, you can say it. ODed."

"Accident?"

"No." Norman replied flatly, eyes firmly focused on a funny coloured spot on the carpet. 

"Oh." Dipper sat down on the bed across from him. 

"He just wanted out of this world. Had no idea he'd.. It wasn't what he expected"

"I can imagine." Dipper grimenced "Can't be the only one though." 

"No you can't" 

"What?" 

"You can't imagin! You have no idea!" Norman had half risen from his seat, brow creased, eyes still wet and blotchy. 

"I...sorry. I just meant a lot of people must end up like that. You cry over all of them?" Dipper wasn't sure if the question came out a sincere or sarcastic. He didn’t mean to sound sarcastic. 

"No! It’s just...he was like us. Like me. Both in the arts. He was doing animation. Never got to finished his project. And, um. Same scars as me."

"Shit."

"Ha! Yeah. " Norman often laughed when he talked about himself. Perhaps he felt that if you can still joke about something it's not that bad. That it can't really hurt you. Maybe it just made him uncomfortable. 

"Hey Norm? Do you...You ever think about..." Dipper felt his stomach twisting, he couldn't quite finish the sentence. 

"..yeah." Norman didn't laugh. 

"Oh..." Dipper felt that maybe he should say something. But Norman continued before he managed to find any words. 

"Never tried though. No point. It's not really a way out. I'd probably just end up like them. Umfinished business. Can't let go. Or whatever keeps ‘em here. " Norman smiled a bit as he spoke. But he didn't look happy. Then he wasn't smiling anymore. "..you?"

"No! I mean..I have my sister right. Twins. I couldn't do that to her. No matter how bad it gets, I wouldn’t do that to her. " He'd never said that before. To Wendy, to Pacifica, certainly never to mable. Now tears prickled behind his eyelids and his breath felt shaky. 

"Your reason sounds so much more purposeful than mine." When Dipper looked up Norman was smileing again. 

"You don't have anything more that 'no point'? Don't you have like, film school and people and stuff?"

"I dunno. I guess there’s not very many people I know well enough or care enough about to stay for. Film makes me happy I think. I like the sets, and the make up. ‘Specially the freaky special effects stuff. But I dunno if that would be enough to keep me here, if I didn't know that the other side is really like. "

"Is it really the other side though? It's just more kinda in between isn't it?" Dippers brain was running again, asking questions half to Norman, half to himself. 

Norman shrugged. 

"Never mind. You ok? " Dipper asked draggin his mind back to the present. 

"I guess." Norman seemed distant. Maybe he was seeing or listening to them again. Dipper wondered if the ghosts could hear them too. 

"What did you talk about?" He asked, referring back to the ghost. 

"Ya’know, Just stuff. About him. About me. He said to look after myself. Try to be kind to myself. Talk to people ’n junk. Said I could talk to him. " 

"Will you? "

"Will I what?" 

"Talk to someone?" 

"I'm talking to you aren't I? And I'll probably talk to him again. I guess He's kinda anchored on campus or whatever." Dipper made a mental note to add ghost anchors to his journal, and question Norman about the subject. At a better time. 

"What about the other stuff? The being kind and things? "

Another non comital shrug. 

"Hey, you want coffee or something?" dipper asked standing up abruptly and moving to plug in the coffe maker. 

"Sure." Norman flopped back on the bed, replying with noticeably forced enthusiasm. 

"And..um.. You can talk to me ok?" 

"I am."

Dipper turned around and faced Norman again. "I mean like, whenever. Just, if you need to. Don't worry about waking me up or calling me at weird times. I don't mind. I mean I might, a bit, if it's like 3am, but I'll still talk. Or listen at least. Probably give useless feedback." Dipper smiled as Norman turned away from the ceiling to face him. 

"Thanks. Like really. Thanks."

"Hey, I don't wanna lose you. Your like the best roommate a guy could ask for!" Dipper laughed, feeling annoyingly teary again. 

"I talk to ghosts and do witchcraft." Norman replied flatly. 

"And leave your weird gross hair in the shower drain! Don't forget that. But other than those relatively miner flaws, all just character traits really, your pretty great!" Dipper grinned. 

"Thanks, your alright yourself." Norman shot back before returning his focus to somewhere a few inches below the ceiling. 

‘Alright.’ Dipper thought as he scooped grounds into the machine and watched Norman mutter along to unheard conversations. Huh. Yeah.

They might just be alright.


End file.
